CENTRAL ISLIP, NY – According to Longisland.com, police in Suffolk County are investigating a fatal pedestrian hit-and-run crash that took place on Tuesday, January 1, 2019. The victim of the incident was identified as 22-year-old Taekwon Campbell. Police say Campbell was homeless. A vehicle that was heading north on Lowell Avenue struck Campbell at about […]
CENTRAL ISLIP, NY – According to Longisland.com, police in Suffolk County are investigating a fatal pedestrian hit-and-run crash that took place on Tuesday, January 1, 2019.
The victim of the incident was identified as 22-year-old Taekwon Campbell. Police say Campbell was homeless. A vehicle that was heading north on Lowell Avenue struck Campbell at about 1:30 in the morning.
Campbell was declared deceased at the crash scene.
No description of the vehicle that struck Campbell has been released, but according to workers at a deli near the scene, investigators are using their surveillance videos to look for clues about the vehicle.
Pedestrian accidents are more common in poorer neighborhoods that are more likely to have highways and busy streets running through them and are also more likely to have higher numbers of people walking. Pedestrian fatalities have risen across the country even as other types of traffic deaths have been dropping. One disturbing trend is that many pedestrians killed in crashes are under the influence of alcohol. While drunk driving is an issue that receives a great deal of attention, drunk walking can be just as deadly, and it is not addressed nearly as much.
While getting people to behave more responsibly and to not walk into the road after a night of drinking would be helpful, the reality that many safety advocates realize is that people will make mistakes, but those errors should not result in deaths. Better lighting on roads, lower speed limits in areas where people frequently walk and promoting ride-sharing services to people who have been drinking are additional ways to help lower the pedestrian death toll across the United States.
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